Sure, Countess Coloratura may have fired him, but that did not really matter to Svengallop. He might not have her singing voice, but he knew every loophole there was in Equestrian law like the back of his hoof. So, after having sued the cutie mark off of her for what was technically a contract breach, he still had more than enough bits to take his wife to a fancy restaurant in the middle of Manehattan.
Svengallop did not meet his wife all that often. They lived at different addresses and worked in different fields, after all, and neither of them had any illusions that their marriage was based on passion. No, they had married because they were likeminded and it made sense to keep one another in sight to exchange ideas or collaborate on more intricate schemes.
Svengallop might not love Suri Polomare, and Suri Polomare might not love Svengallop, but they did respect one another’s abilities, and for ponies like them, that almost passed for love. They had, after all, had a daughter together. Of course, that was only to get a generous child-support payout at first, but Cozy had proven herself to have the all the qualities her parents respected.
The two spent the dinner talking about the various project they had going on and sharing humorous anecdotes about some of their marks. ”… So I expect Coco to come crawling back to me soon,” Suri said. ”Once I have Prim Hemline wrapped around my hoof, she’ll be all mine.”
”I can see if I can’t find something on Prim Hemline,” Svengallop promised. ”Just in case she has some ace up her sleeve, you ought to have two. But as fun as it is to sit here and swap stories with you…” Svengallop withdrew the letter he had received from Cozy from his suit pocket. ”I received a letter from Cozy Glow. She’s out of Tartarus and among… friends.” The way Svengallop pronounced it, it sounded more like an inanimate resource than living ponies. He smiled fondly. ”She has clearly grown since she left home…”
”Oh, It’s been so long since I saw her!” Suri’s expression lit up in a smile. ”Let me read!”
Svengallop passed her the letter and she picked it up. Her expression softened as she read on. At the end of it, her eyes were misty with tears of joy. Svengallop reached over the table and carefully dabbed her cheeks with a tissue. She choked up slightly.
”Thanks,” she said with a shaky voice. ”It’s so long since I heard from my little filly.”
”She’s really grown, hasn’t she? Planning to take advantage of her friends and then backstabbing them?”
”Yea… she is not a little filly anymore, but a young mare.” Suri perked up. ”Say, you don’t know where she is now, do you?”
”She mentions a quagmire where she is hiding with a changeling,” Svengallop mused. ”My guess would be Hayseed Swamps, south of Baltimare. Probably somewhat close to the city too, if she can get ingredients to bake cinnamon rolls.”
Suri nodded thoughtfully. ”Well, thank you for telling me this. Will you pay for the meal? I have to get back to my studio. Hoity Toity won’t copy himself after all.”
”I will set this up as ’business meeting’ on the Sapphire Shore’s tab,” Svengallop said. ”So go ahead and order a few bottles of wine if you want them.”
”What a gentlecolt,” Suri said and beckoned a waiter.
Cozy Glow put away her knitting needles and smiled at the new Twilight Sparkle doll she held in her hooves. After having torn the head off Twilight and all her friends during her uplifting musical number with Chrysalis and Tirek she had been hard at work recreating them, and this was the final one. Now she just had to find some rope, hot coals, a zweihänder, and someone who could enchant them with voodoo magic. Maybe Grogar could do that?
Cozy was pulled out of her rumination by a decisive knock on the door. It was the first time she heard that sound since she came to the swamp. Despite Cozy’s many kind reminders to knock, both Chrysalis and Tirek continued to forget.
Seemed like one of them had finally learned. Cozy smiled and flew away to open for them. The least she could do was to reward their good behavior. As undisputed leader of their group she had to lead by good example.
”Welcome to back! I hope your walk around this mosquito-infested swamp was nice,” she said.
”I would prefer my little filly to live in a place with a little more class, m’kay,” Suri said and stepped in.
”Mommy!” Cozy squeaked happily and hugged her mother. ”How did you find me? Why are you here? Did father get my letter? Is he here too?”
”One question at a time, sweetheart,” Suri said and nuzzled Cozy. ”I found you with help of your father’s letter. He, sadly could not come along, m’kay, since he had a business meeting with two very promising ponies. Resort owners in Las Pegasus, I think it was. But I wanted to see you. It’s been so long.”
”Hmm. It has,” Cozy agreed. ”Come on in! I will give you a tour and introduce you to all my new friends.” Cozy fluttered out of the doorway to let her mother inside. Suri removed her saddlebags and left them by the door next to the green-blue, ominously glowing cowbell that someone had shoved in behind a stalactite.
”I made the inspirational banners!” Cozy said proudly and pointed at the roof. ”To promote a team spirit and lighten up the mood here.”
”Very nice,” Suri said. ”Is that your friends on it?”
Cozy nodded energetically. ”That is Tirek, Grogar, me and Chryssie,” she confirmed. ”Come on! Tirek is probably lifting in the gym now, and he really like it when I cheer him on. I'm pretty sure he even said that when I'm there, he can lift a little heavier.”
”Of course he said that,” Suri confirmed and went after Cozy Glow down a staircase and through a door.
”Tiiiirek!” Cozy shouted and flitted up to the red and black centaur who laid on a bench press. She sat down on the bar. ”Hi, friend! How are you today?”
”What do you want, Cozy?” Tirek sounded tired, and not all from his lifting.
”My mother is here!” Cozy Glow squeed in delight. ”She came to see how I was doing and to meet all my other friends! And since you are my best friend, you get to meet her first!”
Tirek stood up as if struck by lightning. ”You have a mother!? I thought you were just the spawn of a demon or something,” Tirek exclaimed. Then he got a look of realization in his face. ”Wait. How did your mother even know you were here?”
”She sent me a letter, m’kay,” Suri said and stepped up to the centaur. She glanced over him with a critical look. ”Have you been skipping leg day?”
”N-No!” Tirek shouted, eyes darting around. ”My ankle has been bad lately, that’s all!”
”Yea, I’m sure you’ll be alright in no time at all,” Cozy flitted up to his face and patted him on the head. ”I’m sure your gram-gram would be happy to know you take care of yourself.”
The centaur looked from Cozy to Suri, then back. Then he sat down heavily on the floor and mumbled to himself. ”There are two of them now… how is this possible? Why me? What did I do to deserve this?”
”So you’re Lord Tirek,” Suri asked. ”My daughter speaks highly of you, m’kay. She said you helped inspire her to take over the world.”
”Mr. Tirek was a really good pen pal when I was in Twilight’s school,” Cozy said. ”It’s hard being alone in a whole new class. Nopony to play with or plot genocide with.” Cozy felled her ears in dismay. Then she perked right up again. ”But I could always talk to Tirek! He was like my guidance councilor.”
”I Am the last of the centaurs, scourge of pony kind and the one Celestia has feared the longest! Not a guidance councilor!” Tirek roared.
”Whatever, m’kay,” Suri said with a dismissive gesture. ”I just wanted to thank you for being a good influence on my daughter.”
”Oh… uh, thanks,” Tirek said, dumbfounded. He looked from Cozy to Suri, seemingly at a loss for words. ”I’m going back to my lifting now then…”
”See you soon!” Cozy smiled and waved him good bye before flitting out of the room to find Chrysalis. ”I think I wrote it in my letter, but Chryssie is a bit nutty,” Cozy whispered to her mother. ”Don’t insult her log.”
”M’kay,” Suri said. The tow of them continued down another flight of stairs.
”You know, Starlight Glimmer, that people say nothing in life is certain? Well, I’m certain this is going to hurt!”
Suri and Cozy stopped and looked at one another as if to confirm the other one had heard the same thing. Cozy put her hoof in front of her lips and tip-toed the rest of the way down the stairs. She peeked around the corner. Suri followed suit.
Standing in front of a low rock was a changeling, bigger than normal. On top of the small rock stood a pale purple piece of wood.
”Was that one good? Maybe I should write it down,” Chrysalis said to the log. ”Or… wait, I think I’ve got another one. How about: ’This fall before me will give you plenty time to think of your failure!’ Because… you know, because her fall from being a princess’ best friend to be coming grub-food is pretty long? So she will have a lot of time to think?” Chrysalis looked hopefully at her log.
The log did not answer. ”Maybe it needs a little more work,” Chrysalis said glumly. ”Uh… how about: Starlight Glimmer? More like Starblight… uh, Dimmer?”
Suri looked away from Chrysalis and down to Cozy, who was trying to stifle her giggles. Suri leaned down and whispered. ”I don’t want you to associate with her, okay Cozy? Only speak with her if you have another adult with you.”
”But I need to befriend her so I can get her to do what I say,” Cozy insisted.
”Don’t talk to her alone or I will have you grounded,” Suri said, adding a bit of motherly authority in her tone. Cozy silenced and folded her ears back.
”How many Starlights does it take to change a lightbulb? Two, one who fails and one who improvises a new plan!”
Both Suri and Cozy Glow cringed and slowly started up the stairs again. Suri had seen enough of Chrysalis to know nothing useful would come from talking to her.
”Now we just need to introduce you to Grogar!” Cozy Glow said happily. ”He’s the one who got me and Tirek out of Tartarus. He’s not really that bright, since he managed to lose the cowbell that contained half his power, but he’s still pretty strong.”
”Stupid and powerful,” Suri said. ”Two good qualities in a friend.”
”I know!” Gozy said with an adorable smile. ”I have such high hopes for him! I hope I can have him tear Twilight Sparkle to bloody shreds very soon!”
”I’m sure you can, sweetheart,” Suri said and nuzzled for filly quickly. The two of them returned up the stairs to let Chrysalis continue ”working”.
”Grogar came here before the rest of us, so he claimed the largest room to himself,” Cozy explained and led her mother into another section of their hideout. ”He often sits there and stares into a black ball of some sort. Almost like one of those magic 8-balls you gave me on my sixth birthday, but I don't know what he sees in it.” They came up to a door. ”Grooogar!” Cozy cheered and flitted in, a huge grin on her face.
The room was empty, even if there was a new hole in the wall. Cozy was not sure why, but she had noticed Grogar often blasted his way through walls rather than just going through the doors. Cozy just hoped that they could conquer Equestria before their hideout collapsed. ”That’s weird. Where is he? He is pretty much always in here… unless!” Cozy exclaimed, then broke out in a smile. ”Unless he wanted to join me in baking! Maybe he is looking for me in my room!” Cozy flew through the hole in the wall as fast as she could. Suri followed only to nearly collide with Cozy in the next room. This was the vestibule where she had come into the hideout.
And just by the entrance, next to her saddlebags, laid a blue goat knocked out cold on the floor, a half-eaten cupcake next to him. ”Oh… I guess he didn’t wanna bake with me then,” Cozy said sadly. ”Is he dead?” she asked, sounding a little happier at the thought.
”Which one did he eat?” Suri asked.
Cozy flitted over to Grogar and poked him. He did not respond. She picked up the cupcake. It was a very stark blue.
”No, then he is just sleeping,” Suri said. ”The blue one puts them to sleep. Its the red one that’s filled with rat poison. I made them for you, just in case your friends started to outlive their usefulness.”
”Aw, that’s so sweet,” Cozy said. ”But I don’t need them yet! Grogar too has some use still, since he’s really strong. It’s just a question of learning how to play him. But I’m sure I’ll figure it out soon.”
”I’m sure you will, sweetheart. It runs in our family.” Suri extended her foreleg, and Cozy took the invite to hug her mother. Suri hugged back.
”I’ll take over all of Equestria!” Cozy promised. ”And then Twilight will regret foiling my last plan.”
”I’m proud of you, Cozy,” Suri said and hugged her little filly closer. ”And I know you’ll sit on the throne one day. You’ve got it in you, I know that.”
”Thanks, mom,” Cozy said. ”I’d never eviscerate you and Pa in your sleep.”
”I know, Cozy. I know,” Suri said.
